Marian Wright Edelman (left)

This is a time of great promise and potential for Black college students. As I look back over the years since I graduated from Spelman College, it is evident much progress has taken place.  The Civil Rights Movement, which I was blessed to witness, immeasurably lightened the physical, mental, and emotional burden of growing up Black in America.  Millions of Black children and poor children of all races have moved into the American mainstream and are better off materially.

But some of our values have not always kept pace with our progress.  While I do not seek to go back to the segregated indignities of the days before Brown v. Board, something important has been lost, as we have thrown away, or traded so much of our Black spiritual heritage for a false sense of economic security and inclusion. We must regain our moral bearings and roots and help America rediscover hers before millions more children self-destruct or grow up thinking life is about acquiring rather than sharing, selfishness rather than sacrifice, and material rather than spiritual wealth.

My best advice for Black college students, and all students, is to focus on making a life rather than just a living.  Remember the key priorities the elders and mentors in our community have always embraced:  dedication to excellence, faith in God, respect for yourself and others around you, the value of hard work, the importance of education, and a commitment of service to others as the rent we all pay for living.  Focus on finding your purpose and the job God has placed you in the world to do.  Stand for something bigger than yourself.  Repay the opportunities you have been given as you go forward by reaching back for someone else’s hand.

These principles have always been at the core of our families and communities, and have sustained Black people through long years of struggle.  We still need them today. They are not lessons on how to be popular or famous or hold a prestigious job with a large salary, but guidelines on how to become a satisfied and fulfilled person, who enjoys a rich life and brings richness to the lives around hers.  The Children's Defense Fund and the Black Community Crusade for Children are focused on identifying and nurturing the next generation of servant-leaders.  We have already trained over 4,000 Black college students through our Ella Baker Child Policy Training Institute. Our Student Leadership Network for Children and programs like our internships for college students, and the Student Health Outreach (SHOUT) Program include thousands of college-aged young people, who are already striving to live up to these principles and training and preparing to pass them on.

Marian Wright Edelman is the president of the Children's Defense Fund, Washington, D.C.